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ABBOTTABAD, May 6: At least 20 people were arrested on Friday by law-enforcement agencies from surrounding areas of the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed during an operation by US forces.

Army was again deployed at the compound while military officers inspected the site.

Officials said police, which had been handed over security of the compound one day after the operation, had been withdrawn and army soldiers redeployed there.

Military and intelligence officers carried out an extensive inspection of the compound and police were directed to keep the general public away from the place.

Sources told Dawn the military and intelligence experts examined all household items and wreckage of the helicopter. They later handed them over to aeronautical experts for examination.

According to the contractor who built the house, there were 10 rooms in the three-storey building.

A local newspaper seller said years ago one resident of the house used to take two local newspapers once or twice in a month, but since long he had not seen the buyer.

The total number of people present at the time of the operation were 21 _ Osama bin Laden, his son, his three wives, a woman who died during the action and believed to be wife of one of the guards, three men who were also killed and 12 children.

MEDIA ATTENTION:

Local and foreign media teams spent yet another day in Abbottabad in the hope of getting a chance to visit the compound.

People living in the vicinity who had left their homes after the Osama episode have begun trickling back to the neighbourhood. However, one resident who lived near the Osama compound was still missing.

The contractor and some others picked up by security agencies have also returned home.

FOREIGNERS' ENTRY PROHIBITED:

The district administration has prohibited the entry of all foreigners without valid documents to Abbottabad district.

According to a notification, all foreign nationals, journalists included, must inform police about their entry to the district, show their pass and other documents, and specify the purpose of their visit.

The notification also barred foreigners from taking a stroll after midnight.